Angier March Perkins
Encyclopedia
]
Angier March Perkins was a U.S. engineer
who worked most of his career in the UK and was instrumental in developing the new technologies of central heating
.
and his wife, Hannah, née Greenleaf. His name came from that of his father's brother in-law and close friend Angier March. Jacob Perkins travelled to the UK in 1819 in order to exploit his bank note printing
inventions and Angier March followed in 1821 to join his father in the printing business.
Angier March eventually took charge of his father's business but in 1828 launched his own heating and steam engineering enterprise. He married Julia Georgina Brown in 1831 and in the same year filed the first of his patent
s for heating equipment. His first steam heating system was installed in 1832 in the home of Governor of the Bank of England
John Horley Palmer so that the owner could grow grape
s. He also installed heating systems in commercial premises. Angier March's business prospered and he moved to larger premises, sharing an office with his father who, though still inventive, enjoyed less commercial success.
He ultimately became involved in improved methods for smelting
iron
and designs for piping and plumbing fittings
. His high-pressure steam technology proved to have other uses, including a mobile baker
's oven
for the British Army
.
Angier March died April 22 1881 at his family home in Hampstead
and was buried in the family vault in Kensal Green Cemetery
. He was age 81.
Angier March Perkins was a U.S. engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who worked most of his career in the UK and was instrumental in developing the new technologies of central heating
Central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
.
Life
Perkins was born in Old Newburyport, Massachusetts, the second son of six children of Jacob PerkinsJacob Perkins
Jacob Perkins was an Anglo-American inventor, mechanical engineer and physicist. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Perkins was apprenticed to a goldsmith...
and his wife, Hannah, née Greenleaf. His name came from that of his father's brother in-law and close friend Angier March. Jacob Perkins travelled to the UK in 1819 in order to exploit his bank note printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
inventions and Angier March followed in 1821 to join his father in the printing business.
Angier March eventually took charge of his father's business but in 1828 launched his own heating and steam engineering enterprise. He married Julia Georgina Brown in 1831 and in the same year filed the first of his patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s for heating equipment. His first steam heating system was installed in 1832 in the home of Governor of the Bank of England
Governor of the Bank of England
The Governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor...
John Horley Palmer so that the owner could grow grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s. He also installed heating systems in commercial premises. Angier March's business prospered and he moved to larger premises, sharing an office with his father who, though still inventive, enjoyed less commercial success.
He ultimately became involved in improved methods for smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and designs for piping and plumbing fittings
Piping and plumbing fittings
Fittings are used in pipe and plumbing systems to connect straight pipe or tubing sections, to adapt to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes, such as regulating or measuring fluid flow...
. His high-pressure steam technology proved to have other uses, including a mobile baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
's oven
Oven
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
for the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Family
Angier March had two sons:- Angier Greenleaf Perkins (1832–1871), also an engineer;
- Loftus PerkinsLoftus PerkinsLoftus Perkins was an English engineer, particularly involved in developing the practical technologies of central heating and refrigeration.-Life:...
(1834–1891), was apprenticed to his father in 1848 becoming a partnerPartnershipA partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
in A. M. Perkins & Son in 1866.
Angier March died April 22 1881 at his family home in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
and was buried in the family vault in Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
. He was age 81.
Honours and offices
- Associate of the Institution of Civil EngineersInstitution of Civil EngineersFounded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
, (1840); - Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, (1849).
External links
- A history of the development of the Baker Perkins Group Baker Perkins Historical Society